The National Security Education Program (NSEP) was a
U.S. federal government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fed ...
initiative to enhance the national security of the U.S. by increasing the national capacity to understand and interact effectively with foreign cultures and languages. NSEP oversaw nine critical initiatives designed to attract, recruit, and train a future national security workforce. Some funding came in exchange for a commitment to U.S. federal government service upon completion of academic study. NSEP was aimed at building a wider pool of Americans with
foreign language
A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a given country, and that native speakers from that country must usually acquire through conscious learning - be this through language lessons at school ...
and international skills by involving participants in "innovative, intensive, and long-term programs designed to provide meaningful opportunities to gain significant competencies in these
languages and
cultures
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylo ...
."
["Mission and objectives]
NSEP was established by the National Security Education Act in 1991.
Oversight for NSEP was provided by the National Security Education Board (NSEB), which met "to review and make recommendations based on program mission and objectives." The NSEB consists of a 13-member board including representatives from seven Cabinet-level departments. Six non-federal members,
List of positions filled by presidential appointment with Senate confirmation, appointed by the President also serve on the NSEB. The Office of the
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
The under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, or USD (P&R) is a high-ranking civilian position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) within the United States Department of Defense responsible for advising the secretary an ...
(OSD/P&R) provided policy oversight for NSEP.
On February 6, 2012, the National Security Education Program and Defense Language Office were merged to form the Defense Language and National Security Education Office, which consolidates cultural, linguistic, and regional
foreign studies education efforts into a single program capable of satisfying national and Department-wide requirements.
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Initiatives
NSEP had nine initiatives (at least some of which were transferred to DLNSEO):
See also
* National Security Language Initiative
*Defense Language Office
The Defense Language Office was an office within the United States Department of Defense. It was officially established in May 2005 under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to ensure a strategic focus on lang ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official website
Boren Awards
The Language Flagship
American Councils for International Education
National Language Service Corps (NLSC)
English for Heritage Language Speakers (EHLS)
United States national security policy
Scholarships in the United States
Learning programs